Bridgestone Americas Celebrates Topping Out of New Headquarters

By year’s end, Bridgestone Tower will be home to more than 1,700 teammates, some of whom will be new to Nashville. We are proud to invest in Music City, our home for the past 25 years and now for many more years to come.

Bridgestone Americas, Inc., a subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, the world’s largest tire and rubber company, today celebrated the “topping out” of its new headquarters in downtown Nashville to mark the completion of the 30-floor structure.

Joined by Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, Bridgestone Americas leaders also announced a new name for the headquarters, which will eventually house corporate staff and teammates from four core business units as well as supporting functions. The new name, chosen by the company’s employees, is Bridgestone Tower.

“Because of the work by our construction and development partners at Brasfield & Gorrie and Highwoods Properties along with the architects Perkins+Will, we are celebrating a milestone for our new downtown headquarters, Bridgestone Tower,” said Gordon Knapp, CEO and President of Bridgestone Americas. “By year’s end, Bridgestone Tower will be home to more than 1,700 teammates, some of whom will be new to Nashville. We are proud to invest in Music City, our home for the past 25 years and now for many more years to come.”

When fully complete later this year, the more than $200 million headquarters will be home to Bridgestone Americas corporate staff and four core business units: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations; Bridgestone Retail Operations; Firestone Building Products; and Firestone Industrial Products.

“With Bridgestone Tower and Bridgestone Operations Center in Antioch that opens this summer, we’re proud of the economic impact our new facilities will have on Music City, but we’re most excited to have our business units and teammates together in the same metro area,” added Knapp.

The 514,000-square-foot, 30-story headquarters building is located at 4th Avenue South and Demonbreun Street in SoBro. The tower was designed by world-class architects Perkins+Will, developed by Highwoods Properties and constructed by Brasfield & Gorrie. It reflects best practices in workplace space and design, and is expected to be LEED-certified at the Gold level. Upon completion, the facility will be among the largest and tallest corporate headquarters buildings in Nashville. Bridgestone Tower will further strengthen the thriving SoBro district with its neighbors the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Schermerhorn Symphony and the Bridgestone Arena.

“Reaching the top of this skyline-changing structure is a critical milestone for the construction team,” said Brasfield & Gorrie Division Manager David Gordon. “The hard work and dedication of the men and women on this team are reflected in the progress we’ve made, and we look forward to delivering the project later this year.”

“We’re thrilled to see this project take shape and to have reached this stage of the construction timeline. We believe the Tower's prestigious design will nicely compliment and further enhance the Nashville skyline,” said Ed Fritsch, President and Chief Executive Officer, Highwoods Properties. “We thank the army of individuals, from Bridgestone, Perkins+Will, Brasfield & Gorrie, the City of Nashville and many others who’ve worked so closely with us on this monumental project,” said Fritsch.

“With its all-glass facade organized in a series of four dynamic planes, Bridgestone Tower is a signature building on the Nashville skyline,” said Perkins+Will Associate Principal Don Reynolds, AIA, LEED AP BD+C. “It is designed to provide employees with a sustainable, resilient, flexible and highly collaborative and productive workplace.”

About Bridgestone Americas, Inc.:

Nashville, Tenn.-based Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM) is the U.S. subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, the world’s largest tire and rubber company. BSAM and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires to address the needs of a broad range of customers, including consumers, automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers, and those in the agricultural, forestry and mining industries. The companies are also engaged in retreading operations throughout the Western Hemisphere and produce air springs, roofing materials, and industrial fibers and textiles. The BSAM family of companies also operates the world’s largest chain of automotive tire and service centers. Guided by its One Team, One Planet message, the company is dedicated to achieving a positive environmental impact in all of the communities it calls home.

About Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations:

Nashville, Tenn.-based Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO) is a business unit of Bridgestone Americas, Inc., whose parent company, Bridgestone Corporation, is the world's largest tire and rubber company. Reporting into the BATO business unit are the company's Latin American tire operations; the U.S. and Canadian consumer tire businesses; the U.S. and Canadian commercial tire businesses; and Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC, which operates the largest network of company-owned automotive service providers in the world. BATO develops, manufactures and markets Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires. The business unit is focused on retail, wholesale and original equipment markets, supplying passenger, light truck, commercial vehicle, off road, motorcycle, agricultural and other tires, as well as retreads, to its customers in the Americas.

About Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC:

Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC (BSRO) is headquartered in Bloomingdale, Ill., and owns and operates more than 2,200 tire and automotive service centers across the United States — including Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus™, Hibdon Tires Plus™, and Wheel Works store locations. Credit First National Association and Firestone Complete Fleet Care™ operations are also part of BSRO. BSRO is a member of the Bridgestone Americas family of companies.

Firestone Industrial Products Company, LLC, specializes in air spring manufacturing and technology with a history of more than 75 years of research and development on technologically advanced air springs for the global marketplace. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Firestone Industrial Products manufactures air springs and related products for commercial trucks and trailers, cars, sport utility vehicles, light trucks, mini vans, motor homes, buses, agricultural equipment, rail and industrial applications. The company has quality-certified manufacturing/assembly plants and technical centers in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Firestone offers a line of Complete Suspension Solutions that includes Ride-Rite™, Sport-Rite™, Coil-Rite™, and Level-Rite™ Air Helper Springs, and Work-Rite™ Load Assist Springs. These products have become synonymous with quality, durability and outstanding customer support.

About Brasfield & Gorrie:

Founded in 1964, Brasfield & Gorrie is one of the nation’s largest privately held construction firms, providing general contracting, design-build, and construction management services for a wide variety of markets. We are skilled in construction best practices, including virtual design and construction, integrated project delivery, and lean construction, but we are best known for our preconstruction and self-perform expertise and exceptional client service. Brasfield & Gorrie has 12 offices and approximately 2,600 employees. Our 2016 revenues were $2.4 billion. Engineering News-Record ranks Brasfield & Gorrie 29th among the nation’s “Top 400 Contractors” for 2016.

About Highwoods Properties:

Highwoods Properties, Inc., headquartered in Raleigh, is a publicly-traded (NYSE: HIW) real estate investment trust ("REIT") and a member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index. The Company is a fully integrated office REIT that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Greensboro, Memphis, Nashville, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa. For more information about Highwoods, please visit our website at www.highwoods.com.

About Perkins+Will:

Perkins+Will is an interdisciplinary, research-based architecture and design firm established in 1935. Founded on the belief that design has the power to transform lives and enhance communities, we collaborate with clients all over the world to create healthy, sustainable places in which to live, learn, work, play, and heal. More than 2,000 professionals across over 20 Perkins+Will offices include some of the brightest minds in architecture, interior design, branded environments, urban design, and landscape architecture. Clients consistently turn to us for our leadership and expertise in areas like sustainability, resilience, health and wellness, and mobility. Additionally, our 10 Research Labs catalyze innovative design technologies and solutions that result in better, smarter, more competitive built environments. The recipient of hundreds of design awards each year, and a progressive leader in corporate social responsibility, Perkins+Will is consistently ranked among the world’s top design firms. Our family of partner companies includes retail strategy and design consultancy Portland; sustainable transportation planning consultancy Nelson\Nygaard; healthcare technology planning firm Genesis; and luxury hospitality design firm Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR). For more information, visit www.perkinswill.com.